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Weeds and general messy garden

lmontg200lmontg200 Posts: 2
in Problem solving
I am a complete novice at garden.

I have attached a photo so you can see what I’m working with, I have 2 strips of grass/weeds/nettles/flowers next to my drive way. It’s a mess. I want to get ride of it so it’s low maintenance and easy for me to maintain. My idea is to strim it all down, rake it all then use weed killer on the full strip for a bit until everything starts to die. I was then going to cover it with weed control fabric and put stones on top. Would this work or will the weeds and grass keep coming through? 

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited June 2020
    Weed killer only works when it has something to work on, so strim it just now, then wait for the new growth to be a few inches, then apply it. 
    Yes, you can put down landscape fabric and gravel, but you will still get weeds coming through occasionally, but more likely is that you'll get them seeding in from elsewhere, so you'll need to keep an eye on it and remove them early on  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    edited June 2020
    If you use larger stones (small pebble size) you will get fewer weeds self seeding into them than if you use the smaller pea shingle. 

    If you are sure you don’t want to grow any plants you might find that a double thickness of weed suppressant membrane will give better protection against weeds growing up from below.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Bigger stones/slate are also less likely to be used as a litter tray by the local cats.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • lmontg200lmontg200 Posts: 2
    Hi All,
    thanks for the replies I really appreciate the advice. Will definitely try double thickness weed control fabric as I have no intentions of planting any flowers, and will look at bigger stones/slate to put down 😁
  • young codgeryoung codger Posts: 543
    For such a tiny area why not just scrape the top 40mm off  to get red of the grass etc. Then dig it over once a fornight.Great exercise too. I wouldn't faff about putting stones down. The weeds will always want to grow through whatever you put down. Once they are growing inbetween the stones it will look a right mess.

     I have a 60ft border  that I dig over regularly-it's almost spotless. Once soil is dug over, it's a breeze when you do it regularly, and becomes enjoyable.
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